A Dutch court tried a former cricketer on the Pakistani national team on Tuesday for allegedly attempting to incite the murder of anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders.
Dutch public prosecutors said cricketer Khalid Latif called for Wilders to be killed in a video posted to social media in 2018 and offered a bounty of €21,000 ($23,000).
The incident occurred after Wilders had announced his plan to hold a competition for cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad. Such images are forbidden in Islam as a form of idolatry, and most Muslims regard caricatures as deeply offensive.
Wilders cancelled the event after receiving numerous death threats and triggering protests, particularly in Pakistan.
"Not only was his goal to end a human life with violence, but with his appeal he tried to silence a Dutch representative," Wilders told the court on Tuesday.